The Peabody Community Foundation is offering grants for local nonprofit groups or individuals interested in putting together a project that will enhance the Peabody Community. In 2012, grants were awarded to Peabody Senior Center, Peabody Township Library, Peabody-Burns Recreation Commission, The HUB, USD 398 After School Adventures Program, USD 398 Adventure Club, USD 398 Safe Kids Camp, and Prairie Lawn Cemetery.

Here is an example of the attitude director Steven Wilson wants for the Peabody-Burns High School musical. He asked Nick Preheim, who plays flamboyant lumberjack Bill Woodcutter, if he had suspenders to augment his outfit. Preheim emphatically responded: “No, but I want some.”

Members of the Peabody American Legion, the Legion Auxiliary, and the Sons of the Legionnaires will host a catfish fry at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Legion. The event is a fundraiser to help pay for repairs to their damaged building façade. The menu for the fish fry includes baked beans, scalloped potatoes, and bread.

Election day was Tuesday, and preliminary results show incumbent Dan Holub winning the race for Marion County Commission District 2, defeating Gary D. Lewis. Results won’t be final until Marion County Commission canvasses the election on Monday, but the preliminary tally was 1,048-781 in favor of Holub.

Every fall, volunteers from several Marion County churches meet at the Mennonite Central Committee distribution center in North Newton to can meat. Their efforts provide valuable protein to others in need, across the seas and closer to home. Volunteers from Eden Mennonite Church near Burns joined workers from adjoining counties Nov. 1 and 2 to cut, weigh, can, and label several batches of turkey. The MCC mobile canning unit makes 33 stops at Mennonite churches throughout the United States and Canada each year.

Stephanie Elizabeth Bowers, 53, of Colby, died Nov. 1. She was born Dec. 3, 1958, to Jack and Sharee Slawson Fromholtz in Colby. She married Russell Bowers on Oct. 9, 1979.

Eldon James Brandt was born to William P. and Lillian (Bartel) Brandt on Aug. 28, 1928, in Goessel, Kan. His mother passed away when Eldon was very little and his father remarried Anna Ewert, who helped raise him. Eldon grew up in rural Hillsboro, Kan., farming with his father, attended school there, and graduated from Hillsboro High school in 1947. Following graduation, Eldon became a part of Voluntary Service through Mennonite Central Committee, and worked in Chaco, Paraguay, at an experiment farm in the Mennonite colonies. Eldon was placed among the Paraguayan people to develop land where they could plant wheat. He also helped put together parts to make plows and windmills for their use. There he met his wife, Anny Neufeld, a local girl, who was working at the farm. They married in Paraguay, Jan. 29, 1955, and in April that year, he brought his bride back to the United States and made their home near Newton, Kan. Later, they moved to Hillsboro, where they raised three sons.

Clara Etta Hammer was born near Lincolnville, Kansas, in October 1907. She was the sixth of eight children born to William Leslie and Susan Jane Clapsadle Hammer. Clara attended all 12 grades at Lincolnville, walking to school and working in a grocery store to support her education. She played high school basketball and graduated salutatorian of her class in 1927.

She might have manure on her boots and a hat on her head when she comes to town to pick up groceries or supplies, but Jamie Peters of rural Hillsboro would not have life any other way. Born into an agriculture family in Illinois and married into the Peters Cow/Calf Ranch southwest of Hillsboro in 1999, Peters believes women have long held an important place in agriculture and will continue to do so as food production becomes paramount in a world with continued population growth.

Cooperative Grain & Supply agronomist Brian Nickel said this is the time of year — after all the fall crops have been harvested and the winter wheat has been planted — that farmers analyze their yields from previous years. They meet with Nickel to try to make more money. The place where farmers are dropping the most dollars, at the moment, is in fertilizer and seed. Nickel said it is the time of year to apply fertilizer so it absorbs into the soil over the winter. About 80 percent of Marion County farmers have ordered seed a couple months early as one way to save money.

Cooperative Grain & Supply Agronomist Brian Nickel tries to save farmers money, but he does not tell them what to plant; he leaves that important decision up to the individual producer. What he does do is keeps informal track of what different farmers are planting. Across the board, wheat has become a more attractice crop in Marion County.

U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency office for Marion County has mailed out about 1,000 ballots for the county FSA committee election, continuing through the beginning of December. Grahamme Glaser, a Peabody-area farmer, is the only candidate on the ballot to represent the southeast portion of the county. The committee has three members who serve for staggered three-year terms. The committee helps steer USDA and FSA programs at the county level.

Cost share funds are availaboe to help provide emergency water to livestock for agriculture producers affected by drought in all Kansas Counties except Republic County. Emergency Conservation Program signup began on oct. 15 and will continue through Nov. 15. Kansas has received $6.1 million in ECP allocation to help producers in need to assistance. Producers can receive cost-share assistance of up to 75 percent of the cost of temporary measures and 50 percent of the cost for permanent measures for approved emergency conservation practices. Practices approved are EC6 Drought Measures (an example is constructing and deepening wells) and EC7 Hauling Water for Livestock

Prices for farmland in Marion County have been generally increasing in the past five years, but they have recently been booming, and a big part of the reason has been the overall national financial environment. Interest rates — both for loans and savings — are very low, and the stock market has been volatile since the housing bubble burst.

Marion County Commission approved a final plat Oct. 31 to allow Gary Dunnegan to split his property at 71 Lakeshore Drive at Marion County Park and Lake into two lots. Dunnegan already has a home on part of the property. He requested the lot split with the intention of building another house on the second lot. Construction has already begun following the approval, Planning and Zoning Director Tonya Richards said Thursday.

If you missed the Trunk-or-Treat event downtown on Halloween, you missed having a smile on your face! It really was a terrific evening for those taking part. The kids, of course, loved it. The parents seemed to enjoy wandering along with their offspring, happy at the giggles and good times, and visiting with other adults they knew. The weather was great and everyone had a spectacular evening. The hands-down winners of the event were the adults who decorated car trunks and pickup beds and seemed to be having a better time than the youngsters. I expect they went to more trouble getting their costumes and scenery together for Trunk or Treat than they ever did when they were passing out candy at home.

A free screening for children birth through age 5 will be held Nov. 13 at the Goessel Mennonite Church, 103 S. Church St. Appointments will be available from 12:30 through 3 p.m. At the screening, learning, motor, language, and social development will be checked. This process usually takes at least an hour for a child to complete.

When Alex Hiebert takes the stage as Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz” at Goessel High School Nov. 9 and 10, her connection to the role of a young Kansas girl trying to find her way home goes a bit deeper than just learning the lines and singing the songs. “You can find home wherever you are,” Hiebert said, at a full costume rehearsal Thursday. “But this year I really had to think about where I wanted to be to finish my senior year of high school.”

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt warns people to be aware of possible scam artists seeking to profit from the public’s generosity after Hurricane Sandy struck the east coast. Schmidt warns the public to make sure they are giving to a reputable charity and to specify that a charity uses donations for intended purposes. Tips

Donate to established organizations with a strong track record providing and organizing disaster relief.

Initiate the donation rather than responding to online or phone solicitations.

Avoid door-to-door solicitors.

Do not fall prey to high-pressure pitches from solicitors. Legitimate charities allow time to think about how much and when to donate.

Florence American Legion will have a potluck supper for Veterans Day at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at 401 Main St., Florence. Jeff Lee, pastor of Florence and Aulne United Methodist churches, will be the guest speaker. There will also be a caisson and limber display at Veterans Park during the day. Caissons and limbers were horse-drawn carts designed to carry either artillery cannons and ammunition, or coffins.

The first Silver and Gold adult Girl Scout reunion of area Flint Hills Scouts was Nov. 3 at the Double E Campgrounds in Emporia. Lifetime Girl Scouts Betty Sanders, daughters Carol Laue of Marion and Christine Laue of Omaha, Neb., and Eileen Sieger of Marion were in attendance.

Marion County Department on Aging will be helping individuals enroll in Prescription Drug Plans every Thursday morning from 10 a.m. to noon. Interested person can walk-in for assistance enrolling or comparing 2013 plans. Appointments can be scheduled 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday by calling (620) 382-3580.

CORRESPONDENTS:

Four high schools in Marion County will be presenting musical productions this weekend, as Marion, Hillsboro, Peabody-Burns, and Goessel students take to the stage. Show times and tickets

Marion High School presents “Once Upon a Mattress,” 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at USD 408 Performing Arts Center. Advance tickets cost $3 for adults or $2 for children younger than 12 and are available at County Seat Decorating Center. Tickets at the door cost $5.

Hillsboro High School presents “Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka,” 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at the HHS auditorium. Tickets cost $5 and are available at the HHS office.

Peabody-Burns High School presents “The Big Bad Musical,” 7 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday. Advance tickets cost $5 and are available at the PBHS office. Tickets at the door cost $8.

Goessel High School presents “The Wizard of Oz,” 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the GHS auditorium. Tickets cost $5 for adults or $3 for children, students, and senior citizens and are available at the GHS office.

The Peabody-Burns High School football season ended Oct. 30 in Mankato with a bi-district loss to Rock Hills, 72-26. The squad finished the season at 6-4. The first three PBHS offensive drives ended in interceptions but the Grizzlies only led PBHS 6-0 with 2 minutes left in the first quarter.